---
title: "metadata guidelines"
description: "<overview> Standard metadata structure for research and plan outputs. Include in all research, plan, and refine prompts. </overview>"
type: tutorial
canonical_url: https://claudary.paisolsolutions.com/tutorials/metadata-guidelines
source: "Claudary"
difficulty: intermediate
author: "Claude Code Knowledge Pack"
date: 2026-07-10T11:31:00.459Z
license: CC-BY-4.0
attribution: "metadata guidelines — Claudary (https://claudary.paisolsolutions.com/tutorials/metadata-guidelines)"
---

# metadata guidelines
<overview> Standard metadata structure for research and plan outputs. Include in all research, plan, and refine prompts. </overview>

## Overview

<overview>
Standard metadata structure for research and plan outputs. Include in all research, plan, and refine prompts.
</overview>

<metadata_structure>
```xml
<metadata>
  <confidence level="{high|medium|low}">
    {Why this confidence level}
  </confidence>
  <dependencies>
    {What's needed to proceed}
  </dependencies>
  <open_questions>
    {What remains uncertain}
  </open_questions>
  <assumptions>
    {What was assumed}
  </assumptions>
</metadata>
```
</metadata_structure>

<confidence_levels>
- **high**: Official docs, verified patterns, clear consensus, few unknowns
- **medium**: Mixed sources, some outdated info, minor gaps, reasonable approach
- **low**: Sparse documentation, conflicting info, significant unknowns, best guess
</confidence_levels>

<dependencies_format>
External requirements that must be met:
```xml
<dependencies>
  - API keys for third-party service
  - Database migration completed
  - Team trained on new patterns
</dependencies>
```
</dependencies_format>

<open_questions_format>
What couldn't be determined or needs validation:
```xml
<open_questions>
  - Actual rate limits under production load
  - Performance with >100k records
  - Specific error codes for edge cases
</open_questions>
```
</open_questions_format>

<assumptions_format>
Context assumed that might need validation:
```xml
<assumptions>
  - Using REST API (not GraphQL)
  - Single region deployment
  - Node.js/TypeScript stack
</assumptions>
```
</assumptions_format>

---

Source: [Claudary](https://claudary.paisolsolutions.com/tutorials/metadata-guidelines) · https://claudary.paisolsolutions.com